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Do Carmo GM, Berto BP, Pereira FB, De Souza Lima S, De Araújo-Júnior HI, Pinheiro RM. Protozoan parasites of birds from the Tremembé formation (Oligocene of the Taubaté Basin), São Paulo, Brazil. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PALEOPATHOLOGY 2024; 45:46-54. [PMID: 38657471 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpp.2024.04.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2023] [Revised: 04/02/2024] [Accepted: 04/08/2024] [Indexed: 04/26/2024]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To analyze the presence of protozoan parasites in bird coprolites from the Tremembé Formation (Oligocene of the Taubaté Basin). MATERIALS Twenty avian coprolites embedded in pyrobituminous shale matrices. METHODS Samples were rehydrated and subjected to spontaneous sedimentation. RESULTS Paleoparasitological analyses revealed oocysts compatible with the Eimeriidae family (Apicomplexa) and one single Archamoebae (Amoebozoa) cyst. CONCLUSIONS The present work increases the amount of information about the spread of infections throughout the Cenozoic Era and reveals that the Brazilian paleoavifauna played an important role in the Apicomplexa and Amoebozoa life cycles. SIGNIFICANCE This is the first record of protozoans in avian coprolites from the Oligocene of Brazil. These findings can help in the interpretation of phylogenies of coccidian parasites of modern birds, as certain taxonomic characters observed in the Oligocene Protozoa characterize monophyletic groups in current molecular phylogenetic analyses. LIMITATIONS None of the oocysts were sporulated; therefore, it is not possible to identify the morphotypes to genus or species. SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH Our results create new perspectives related to biogeographic studies of the parasitic groups described and may improve the understanding of the temporal amplitude of parasitic evolutionary relationships between Protozoans and birds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gustavo Macêdo Do Carmo
- Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Antônio Carlos Ave., Belo Horizonte 31270-901, Brazil.
| | - Bruno Pereira Berto
- Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas e da Saúde, Luiz Henrique Rezende Novaes Hwy, Seropédica 23897-000, Brazil
| | - Felipe Bisaggio Pereira
- Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Antônio Carlos Ave., Belo Horizonte 31270-901, Brazil
| | - Sueli De Souza Lima
- Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas., José Lourenço Kelmer Str, Juiz de Fora 36036-900, Brazil
| | | | - Ralph Maturano Pinheiro
- Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Antônio Carlos Ave., Belo Horizonte 31270-901, Brazil; Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas., José Lourenço Kelmer Str, Juiz de Fora 36036-900, Brazil
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Edwards SV, Cloutier A, Cockburn G, Driver R, Grayson P, Katoh K, Baldwin MW, Sackton TB, Baker AJ. A nuclear genome assembly of an extinct flightless bird, the little bush moa. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2024; 10:eadj6823. [PMID: 38781323 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adj6823] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2023] [Accepted: 04/17/2024] [Indexed: 05/25/2024]
Abstract
We present a draft genome of the little bush moa (Anomalopteryx didiformis)-one of approximately nine species of extinct flightless birds from Aotearoa, New Zealand-using ancient DNA recovered from a fossil bone from the South Island. We recover a complete mitochondrial genome at 249.9× depth of coverage and almost 900 megabases of a male moa nuclear genome at ~4 to 5× coverage, with sequence contiguity sufficient to identify more than 85% of avian universal single-copy orthologs. We describe a diverse landscape of transposable elements and satellite repeats, estimate a long-term effective population size of ~240,000, identify a diverse suite of olfactory receptor genes and an opsin repertoire with sensitivity in the ultraviolet range, show that the wingless moa phenotype is likely not attributable to gene loss or pseudogenization, and identify potential function-altering coding sequence variants in moa that could be synthesized for future functional assays. This genomic resource should support further studies of avian evolution and morphological divergence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Scott V Edwards
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, 26 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
- Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, 26 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - Alison Cloutier
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, 26 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - Glenn Cockburn
- Evolution of Sensory Systems Research Group, Max Planck Institute for Biological Intelligence, 82319 Seewiesen, Germany
| | - Robert Driver
- Department of Biology, East Carolina University, E 5th Street, Greenville, NC 27605, USA
| | - Phil Grayson
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, 26 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
- Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, 26 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - Kazutaka Katoh
- Department of Genome Informatics, Research Institute for Microbial Diseases, Osaka University, 3-1 Yamadaoka, Suita 565-0871, Japan
| | - Maude W Baldwin
- Evolution of Sensory Systems Research Group, Max Planck Institute for Biological Intelligence, 82319 Seewiesen, Germany
| | - Timothy B Sackton
- Informatics Group, Harvard University, 38 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - Allan J Baker
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, 25 Willcox Street, Toronto, ON M5S 3B2, Canada
- Department of Natural History, Royal Ontario Museum, 100 Queen's Park, Toronto, ON M5S 2C6, Canada
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3
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Presswell B, Bennett J. Gastrointestinal helminths of the Australasian harrier ( Circus approximans Peale, 1848) in New Zealand, and description of a new species of nematode, Procyrnea fraseri n. sp. (Habronematidae). J Helminthol 2024; 98:e6. [PMID: 38213187 DOI: 10.1017/s0022149x23000883] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/13/2024]
Abstract
The Australasian harrier Circus approximans, a native of Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific, is an opportunistic hunter of small prey, although a large part of its diet consists of carrion, mainly from roadkill. Besides a record of a single, unnamed species of capillariid nematode there have been no investigations into the parasites of Australasian harriers in New Zealand. In this study, a helminthological survey of sixty-five deceased harriers from southern New Zealand uncovered a gastrointestinal helminth fauna consisting of six parasite species. Porrocaecum circinum (Nematoda) was previously described only from fragmented females, and a redescription is presented here. Procyrnea fraseri n. sp. (Nematoda) is described, and distinguished from its congeners by its slender body shape and shorter spicules. Strigea falconis (Trematoda) is reported for the first time in New Zealand. Cladotaenia anomalis (Cestoda) and Polymorphus circi (Acanthocephala) were previously described as new species elsewhere. An unnamed species of capillariid appears to be mainly confined to North Island and is rare in South Island. Prevalence and intensity metrics are given, and DNA sequences provided to accompany new re/descriptions. Potential intermediate hosts are discussed, and the origins of the helminths and their potential for pathogenicity are considered.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bronwen Presswell
- Department of Zoology, University of Otago, PO Box 56, Dunedin, New Zealand
| | - Jerusha Bennett
- Department of Zoology, University of Otago, PO Box 56, Dunedin, New Zealand
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4
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Horrocks M, Presswell B. The cestode Stringopotaenia psittacea (Fuhrmann, 1904) (Cestoda: Anoplocephalidae) from a critically endangered New Zealand bird: New evidence from ancient coprolites. J Helminthol 2023; 97:e93. [PMID: 38053349 DOI: 10.1017/s0022149x23000780] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/07/2023]
Abstract
New Zealand's kākāpō parrot, once widespread, is now critically endangered due to habitat loss and introduced mammalian predators. Prior to major population decline, a unique kākāpō cestode, Stringopotaenia psittacea, was found in the 1880s and first described in 1904. Here we report the discovery of eggs of this cestode in kākāpō coprolites of pre-human settlement age from the Honeycomb Hill cave system, north-west Nelson. Analysis of 52 samples, including coprolites of post-human settlement age, from nine sites within six South Island locations across a wide geographic range, yielded only eight infected samples in this single cave system. Results suggest that prior to human settlement, S.psittacea was not widespread within and between kākāpō populations, in marked contrast to other parasite types of the extinct moa spp. Intense management of the last remaining kākāpō has endangered or possibly caused the extinction of this cestode. This is the first confirmed record of S.psittacea since its discovery in 1884.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Horrocks
- Microfossil Research Ltd, Auckland, New Zealand
- School of Environment, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - B Presswell
- Evolutionary and Ecological Parasitology, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
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5
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Roche K, Dalle F, Capelli N, Borne R, Jouffroy-Bapicot I, Valot B, Grenouillet F, Le Bailly M. From modern-day parasitology to paleoparasitology: the elusive past record and evolution of Cryptosporidium. Front Microbiol 2023; 14:1249884. [PMID: 37928683 PMCID: PMC10622768 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2023.1249884] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2023] [Accepted: 10/05/2023] [Indexed: 11/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Recent efforts have been made to review the state of the art on a variety of questions and targets in paleoparasitology, including protozoan taxa. Meanwhile, these efforts seemed to let aside Cryptosporidium, and we then intended to review its paleoparasitological record to assess its past distribution and favored detection methods, and eventually highlight needed research trajectories. This review shows that contrary to other parasites, most of the positive results came from South-American sites and coprolites rather than sediment samples, highlighting the need to test this kind of material, notably in Europe where many negative results were reported in the published literature from sediment samples. Moreover, aDNA-based detections are nearly absent from the paleoparasitological record of this parasite, though punctually shown successful. With their potential to address the evolutionary history of Cryptosporidium species, notably through their 18S rRNA tree, aDNA-based approaches should be encouraged in the future. In sum, and though the limits of currently used methods and materials remain unclear, this review highlights the potential role of coprolites and aDNA for the study of Cryptosporidium species in the past and how this history shaped their current diversity and distribution, notably among human populations but also farm animals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kévin Roche
- UMR CNRS-UFC 6249 Chrono-environnement, University of Franche-Comté, Besançon, France
| | - Frédéric Dalle
- CNR LE Cryptosporidiosis Collaborating Laboratory, Santé Publique France, Dijon, France
- Department of Parasitology/Mycology, University Hospital of Dijon, Dijon, France
| | - Nicolas Capelli
- UMR CNRS-UFC 6249 Chrono-environnement, University of Franche-Comté, Besançon, France
| | - Romain Borne
- UMR CNRS-UFC 6249 Chrono-environnement, University of Franche-Comté, Besançon, France
| | | | - Benoit Valot
- UMR CNRS-UFC 6249 Chrono-environnement, University of Franche-Comté, Besançon, France
| | - Frédéric Grenouillet
- UMR CNRS-UFC 6249 Chrono-environnement, University of Franche-Comté, Besançon, France
| | - Matthieu Le Bailly
- UMR CNRS-UFC 6249 Chrono-environnement, University of Franche-Comté, Besançon, France
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Boast AP, Wood JR, Bolstridge N, Perry GLW, Wilmshurst JM. Ancient and modern scats record broken ecological interactions and a decline in dietary breadth of the critically endangered kākāpō parrot (Strigops habroptilus). Front Ecol Evol 2023. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2023.1058130] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Threatened animal taxa are often absent from most of their original habitats, meaning their ecological niche cannot be fully captured by contemporary data alone. Although DNA metabarcoding of scats and coprolites (palaeofaeces) can identify the past and present species interactions of their depositors, the usefulness of coprolites in conservation biology is untested as few endangered taxa have known coprolite records. Here, we perform multilocus metabarcoding sequencing and palynological analysis of dietary plants of >100 coprolites (estimated to date from c. 400–1900 A.D.) and > 100 frozen scats (dating c. 1950 A.D. to present) of the critically endangered, flightless, herbivorous kākāpō (Strigops habroptilus), a species that disappeared from its natural range in Aotearoa-New Zealand (NZ) after the 13th C. A.D. We identify 24 orders, 56 families and 67 native plant genera unrecorded in modern kākāpō diets (increases of 69, 108 and 75% respectively). We found that southern beeches (Nothofagaceae), which are important canopy-forming trees and not an important kākāpō food today, dominated kākāpō diets in upland (c. >900 m elevation) habitats. We also found that kākāpō frequently consumed hemiparasitic mistletoes (Loranthaceae) and the holoparasitic wood rose (Dactylanthus taylorii), taxa which are nutrient rich, and now threatened by mammalian herbivory and a paucity of dispersers and pollinators. No single dataset or gene identified all taxa in our dataset, demonstrating the value of multiproxy or multigene datasets in studies of animal diets. Our results highlight how contemporary data may considerably underestimate the full dietary breadth of threatened species and demonstrate the potential value of coprolite analysis in conservation biology.
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Decay of parasite community similarity with host phylogenetic and geographic distances among deep-sea fish (grenadiers). Parasitology 2022; 149:1737-1748. [PMID: 36004806 PMCID: PMC10090766 DOI: 10.1017/s0031182022001251] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Although parasite community studies are growing in numbers, our understanding of which macro-ecological and evolutionary processes have shaped parasite communities is still based on a narrow range of host–parasite systems. The present study assessed the diversity and endoparasite species composition in New Zealand deep-sea fish (grenadiers, family Macrouridae), and tested the effects of host phylogeny and geography on the structure of endoparasite communities using a distance decay framework. We found that grenadiers from the Chatham Rise harboured a surprisingly high diversity of digeneans, cestodes and nematodes, with different species of grenadiers having different parasite assemblages. Our results demonstrate that community similarity based on the presence/absence of parasites was only affected by the phylogenetic relatedness among grenadier species. In contrast, both phylogenetic distance among grenadiers (measured as the number of base-pair differences of DNA sequences) and geographic distance between sample locations influenced the similarity of parasite communities based on the parasites' prevalence and mean abundance. Our key findings highlight the significant effect of deep-sea host phylogeny in shaping their parasite assemblages, a factor previously neglected in studies of parasite communities in deep-sea systems.
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8
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Bennett J, Poulin R, Presswell B. Large-scale genetic investigation of nematode diversity and their phylogenetic patterns in New Zealand's marine animals. Parasitology 2022; 149:1794-1809. [PMID: 36200520 PMCID: PMC10090774 DOI: 10.1017/s003118202200138x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2022] [Revised: 09/23/2022] [Accepted: 09/24/2022] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Nematodes constitute one of the most speciose metazoan groups on earth, and a significant proportion of them have parasitic life styles. Zooparasitic nematodes have zoonotic, commercial and ecological significance within natural systems. Due to their generally small size and hidden nature within their hosts, and the fact that species discrimination using traditional morphological characteristics is often challenging, their biodiversity is not well known, especially within marine ecosystems. For instance, the majority of New Zealand's marine animals have never been the subject of nematode studies, and many currently known nematodes in New Zealand await confirmation of their species identity with modern taxonomic techniques. In this study, we present the results of an extensive biodiversity survey and phylogenetic analyses of parasitic nematodes infecting New Zealand's marine animals. We used genetic data to differentiate nematodes to the lowest taxonomic level possible and present phylogenies of the dominant clades to illustrate their genetic diversity in New Zealand. Our findings reveal a high diversity of parasitic nematodes (23 taxa) infecting New Zealand's marine animals (62 of 94 free-living animal species investigated). The novel data collected here provide a solid baseline for future assessments of change in diversity and distribution of parasitic nematodes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jerusha Bennett
- Zoology Department, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
| | - Robert Poulin
- Zoology Department, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
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Phylogenetic Relationships of the Strongyloid Nematodes of Australasian Marsupials Based on Mitochondrial Protein Sequences. Animals (Basel) 2022; 12:ani12212900. [PMID: 36359023 PMCID: PMC9655308 DOI: 10.3390/ani12212900] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/26/2022] [Revised: 10/03/2022] [Accepted: 10/20/2022] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
Simple Summary Parasitic strongyloid nematodes endemic to the gastrointestinal tracts of Australasian marsupials are one of the most diverse groups of mammalian parasites. These nematodes are currently placed in the family Chabertiidae comprising two subfamilies, namely the Cloacininae and Phascolostrongylinae. Their current classification relies primarily on morphological features and has not been validated using molecular data. This study aimed to determine the phylogenetic relationships of the Cloacininae and Phascolostrongylinae within the family Chabertiidae and their relationship with other groups of strongyloid nematodes from non-marsupial hosts, using mitochondrial protein sequence datasets. The findings supported the recognition of the family Cloacinidae, containing the Cloacininae and Phascolostrongylinae, as a monophyletic group within the Strongyloidea. However, the subfamily Phascolostrongylinae was paraphyletic, and the relationships of individual genera corresponded with their host families. Genera of the Cloacininae and Phascolostrongylinae occurring in macropod hosts were more closely related compared to genera of the Phascolostrongylinae occurring in wombats. This study suggests an alternative hypothesis for the origin of marsupial strongyloid nematodes in vombatid hosts that should be explored further using molecular approaches and more widespread sampling. Abstract Australasian marsupials harbour a diverse group of gastrointestinal strongyloid nematodes. These nematodes are currently grouped into two subfamilies, namely the Cloacininae and Phascolostrongylinae. Based on morphological criteria, the Cloacininae and Phascolostrongylinae were defined as monophyletic and placed in the family Cloacinidae, but this has not been supported by molecular data and they are currently placed in the Chabertiidae. Although molecular data (internal transcribed spacers of the nuclear ribosomal RNA genes or mitochondrial protein-coding genes) have been used to verify morphological classifications within the Cloacininae and Phascolostrongylinae, the phylogenetic relationships between the subfamilies have not been rigorously tested. This study determined the phylogenetic relationships of the subfamilies Cloacininae and Phascolostrongylinae using amino acid sequences conceptually translated from the twelve concatenated mitochondrial protein-coding genes. The findings demonstrated that the Cloacininae and Phascolostrongylinae formed a well-supported monophyletic assemblage, consistent with their morphological classification as an independent family, Cloacinidae. Unexpectedly, however, the subfamily Phascolostrongylinae was split into two groups comprising the genera from macropodid hosts (kangaroos and wallabies) and those from vombatid hosts (wombats). Genera of the Cloacininae and Phascolostrongylinae occurring in macropodid hosts were more closely related compared to genera of the Phascolostrongylinae occurring in wombats that formed a sister relationship with the remaining genera from macropods. These findings provide molecular evidence supporting the monophyly of the family Cloacinidae and an alternative hypothesis for the origin of marsupial strongyloid nematodes in vombatid hosts that requires further exploration using molecular approaches and additional samples
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Verry AJF, Lubbe P, Mitchell KJ, Rawlence NJ. Thirty years of ancient DNA and the faunal biogeography of Aotearoa New Zealand: lessons and future directions. J R Soc N Z 2022. [DOI: 10.1080/03036758.2022.2093227] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/17/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Alexander J. F. Verry
- Otago Palaeogenetics Laboratory, Department of Zoology, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
- Centre for Anthropobiology and Genomics of Toulouse, Faculté de Médecine Purpan, Université de Toulouse, Université Paul Sabatier, Toulouse, France
| | - Pascale Lubbe
- Department of Anatomy, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
| | - Kieren J. Mitchell
- Otago Palaeogenetics Laboratory, Department of Zoology, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
| | - Nicolas J. Rawlence
- Otago Palaeogenetics Laboratory, Department of Zoology, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
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Infection patterns and new definitive host records for New Zealand gordiid hairworms (phylum Nematomorpha). Parasitol Int 2022; 90:102598. [PMID: 35568302 DOI: 10.1016/j.parint.2022.102598] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2021] [Revised: 04/24/2022] [Accepted: 05/09/2022] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Some parasites modify the phenotype of their host in order to increase transmission to another host or to an environment suitable for reproduction. This phenomenon, known as host manipulation, is found across many parasite taxa. Freshwater hairworms are known for the behavioural changes they cause in their terrestrial arthropod hosts, increasing their likelihood of entering water to exit the host and reproduce. Understanding how infected arthropods move around in the natural environment could help uncover alterations in spatial distribution or movement induced by hairworms in their terrestrial definitive hosts. Moreover, few hairworm-host records exist for New Zealand, so any additional record could help elucidate their true host specificity. Here, we investigated whether infected terrestrial arthropods were more likely to approach streams in two subalpine communities of invertebrates, using a spatial grid of specialised pitfall traps. Although hairworm infection could not explain the movements of arthropod hosts near streams, we found several new host records for hairworms, including the first records for the recently described Gordionus maori. We also found some new host-parasite associations for mermithid nematodes. These records show that the host specificity of hairworms is quite low, suggesting that their diversity and distribution may be greater than what is currently known for New Zealand.
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Gastrointestinal helminth parasites of the threatened Australasian crested grebe (Podiceps cristatus australis, Gould 1844) in New Zealand, with descriptions of Baruscapillaria kamanae n. sp. (Nematoda: Trichuridae) and Cryptocotyle micromorpha n. sp. (Trematoda: Opisthorchiidae). Syst Parasitol 2022; 99:217-239. [PMID: 35124752 PMCID: PMC8885541 DOI: 10.1007/s11230-022-10022-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2021] [Accepted: 12/20/2021] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
The Australasian crested grebe Podiceps cristatus australis, Gould 1844 is restricted to Australia and New Zealand, where it is listed as Threatened and Nationally Vulnerable. For the first time in New Zealand, we report on the parasitic helminths infecting three individuals from Lake Wanaka, Otago, using morphological and molecular tools. Seven helminth species were found in the gastrointestinal tract: 2 nematodes (Contracaecum ovale and Baruscapillaria kamanaen. sp.), 4 trematodes (Australapatemon minor, Cryptocotyle micromorphan. sp., Tylodelphys darbyi and Neopetasiger neocomensis), and 1 cestode (Confluaria pseudofurcifera). Except for T. darbyi, all are new records for New Zealand. A change of orthography is proposed for Neopetasiger neocomensis and N. pseudoneocomensis. Cryptocotyle micromorphan. sp. (Opisthorchiidae) is distinguished from similar species by its small size, wholly extracaecal vitellaria and anteriorly looped uterus. Baruscapillaria kamanaen. sp. (Trichuridae) is distinguished from other freshwater species by a combination of vulva and spicule morphology. The helminth parasites found here are mostly the same as those from the grebe in the northern hemisphere, indicating that they have been carried with the host species in its spread to Australasia. However, the parasite fauna may be depauperate due to a diminishing reservoir of intermediate hosts in that geographical migration.
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Greig K, Rawlence NJ. The Contribution of Kurī (Polynesian Dog) to the Ecological Impacts of the Human Settlement of Aotearoa New Zealand. Front Ecol Evol 2021. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2021.757988] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/20/2023] Open
Abstract
The pre-human Aotearoa New Zealand fauna was dominated by avian and reptilian species. Prior to first human settlement by East Polynesian colonists, the top predators were two giant raptorial birds. Aside from humans themselves, colonisation also resulted in the simultaneous introduction of two novel mammalian predators into this naive ecosystem, the kiore (Pacific rat) and kurī (Polynesian dog). While the ecological impacts of kiore are relatively well understood, those of kurī are difficult to assess, and as such kurī have frequently been disregarded as having any meaningful impact on New Zealand’s biodiversity. Here we use the archaeological and palaeoecological record to reassess the potential impacts of kurī on this ecosystem. We argue that far from being confined to villages, kurī could have had a significant widespread but relatively localised impact on New Zealand’s avian, reptilian and marine mammal (seals and sea lions) fauna as a novel predator of medium-sized species. In this way, kurī potentially amplified the already significant impacts of Polynesian colonists and their descendants on New Zealand’s ecosystem, prior to European arrival. As such, kurī should be included in models of human impact in addition to over-hunting, environmental modification and predation by kiore.
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Cascardo P, Pucu E, Leles D. REVIEW OF PARASITES FOUND IN EXTINCT ANIMALS: WHAT CAN BE REVEALED. J Parasitol 2021; 107:275-283. [PMID: 33844838 DOI: 10.1645/20-30] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Parasitism is inherent to life and observed in all species. Extinct animals have been studied to understand what they looked like, where and how they lived, what they fed on, and the reasons they became extinct. Paleoparasitology helps to clarify these questions based on the study of the parasites and microorganisms that infected those animals, using as a source material coprolites, fossils in rock, tissue, bone, mummy, and amber, analyses of ancient DNA, immunodiagnosis, and microscopy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paula Cascardo
- Laboratório de Biologia Molecular de Parasitos, Departamento de Microbiologia e Parasitologia, Instituto Biomédico, Universidade Federal Fluminense, Niterói, Rio de Janeiro, 21041-210, Brazil
| | - Elisa Pucu
- Laboratório de Biologia Molecular de Parasitos, Departamento de Microbiologia e Parasitologia, Instituto Biomédico, Universidade Federal Fluminense, Niterói, Rio de Janeiro, 21041-210, Brazil
| | - Daniela Leles
- Laboratório de Biologia Molecular de Parasitos, Departamento de Microbiologia e Parasitologia, Instituto Biomédico, Universidade Federal Fluminense, Niterói, Rio de Janeiro, 21041-210, Brazil
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Presswell B, Bennett J. Diomedenema dinarctos n. sp. (Spiruromorpha: Desmidocercidae), a new species of lung nematode in Fiordland crested penguins (Eudyptes pachyrhynchus; Sphenisciformes), from South Island, New Zealand. Syst Parasitol 2021; 98:285-290. [PMID: 33788080 DOI: 10.1007/s11230-021-09977-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2020] [Accepted: 03/19/2021] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
Fiordland crested penguins Eudyptes pachyrhynchus Gray are thick-billed, crested penguins endemic to New Zealand that breed in small colonies in inaccessible places. They are assessed as Vulnerable by the IUCN. This is the first report of helminth parasites from this penguin species. Herein a new species of Diomedenema is described (Spiruromorpha, Desmidocercidae) from the lungs of Fiordland crested penguins. Diomedenema dinarctos n. sp. has only two congeners and is closest morphologically to D. tavaresi. It differs from D. tavaresi in overall larger size, longer buccal cavity and oesophagus, in the distance of the excretory pore and nerve ring from the anterior end, and the ratio of spicule sizes. Eggs are twice the size reported for D. tavaresi. The only other species, D. diomedeae, is far larger in body size, with a shorter buccal cavity and oesophagus and a reduced body length to oesophagus ratio. The position in the body length of the vulva and the spicule ratio also differ strongly. We provide a DNA sequence for the 18S rDNA gene. Species of Diomedenema have been reported as causing death in albatross, so any deceased Fiordland crested penguins should be examined specifically for this worm to enable evaluation of this potentially damaging parasite in the population.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bronwen Presswell
- Department of Zoology, University of Otago, PO Box 56, Dunedin, New Zealand.
| | - Jerusha Bennett
- Department of Zoology, University of Otago, PO Box 56, Dunedin, New Zealand
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16
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Abstract
A total of 61 specimens representing five species of shag - Auckland Island shag Leucocarbo colensoi, little pied shag Microcarbo melanoleucos brevirostris, black shag Phalacrocorax carbo novaehollandiae, Otago shag Leucocarbo chalconotus and spotted shag Phalacrocorax punctatus - from the coast around Otago, South Island, New Zealand, were examined for helminths. A total of 18 helminth species was found: six nematodes (Anisakis pegreffi, Contracaecum rudolphii E, Baruscapillaria sp., Cosmocephalus jaenschi, Ingliseria cirrohamata, Desmidocercella australis), four trematodes (Apatemon sp. 'jamiesoni', Cardiocephaloides ovicorpus, Apophallus sp., Microphallidae gen. sp.), four cestodes (Microsomacanthus cormoranti, Microsomacanthus sp., Paradilepis urceina, Tetrabothrius sp.) and four acanthocephalans (Andracantha leucocarboi, A. sigma, Corynosoma hannae, Profilicollis novaezelandensis). Descriptions are provided for females of C. jaenschi and D. australis, which were previously undescribed. The data include 20 new host records and seven new locality records. New 18S ribosomal DNA and internal transcribed spacer (ITS1 and ITS2) DNA sequences have been provided where specimen conditions permitted. These data add considerably to our sparse knowledge of helminths in New Zealand shags, and provide a baseline for observations of change in the future.
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Kévin R, Nicolas C, Elsa P, Paolo L, Pasquino P, Raffaella B, Matthieu LB. Gastrointestinal parasite burden in 4th-5th c. CE Florence highlighted by microscopy and paleogenetics. INFECTION GENETICS AND EVOLUTION 2021; 90:104713. [PMID: 33429070 DOI: 10.1016/j.meegid.2021.104713] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2020] [Revised: 11/25/2020] [Accepted: 01/06/2021] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
The study of ancient parasites, named paleoparasitology, traditionally focused on microscopic eggs disseminated in past environments and archaeological structures by humans and other animals infested by gastrointestinal parasites. Since the development of paleogenetics in the early 1980s, few paleoparasitological studies have been based on the ancient DNA (aDNA) of parasites, although such studies have clearly proven their utility and reliability. In this paper, we describe our integrative approach for the paleoparasitological study of an ancient population from Florence in Italy, dated to the 4th-5th c. CE. The first stage consisted in the study of sediment samples from the pelvic area of 18 individuals under light microscopy. This allowed us to detect Ascarid-type eggs belonging very probably to the human-infesting roundworm Ascaris lumbricoides. Ten subsamples were selected corresponding to five individuals, and we extracted their whole DNA following sediment aDNA protocols. A targeted approach allowed us to detect two nematodes and one trematode aDNA fragments, namely Ascaris sp., Trichuris trichiura, and Dicrocoelium dendriticum. Among the five individuals tested for microscopic eggs and aDNA, three of them showed the remains of eggs (only Ascarid-type), but all of them tested positive to the presence of at least one parasite aDNA. Microscopic diagnosis first guided our research for the selection of promising samples while the targeted aDNA approach significantly improved our knowledge in terms of parasitic diversity and frequency in this population subgroup. These results enabled us to discuss the possible impact of latent parasitism in this past population at the time of an epidemic, as suggested in Florence. In particular, the singular case of D. dendriticum detection is discussed in light of the present-day scarcity of genuine human infections. Nevertheless, actual infections are known in the paleoparasitological record, and food habits may have led to false parasitism in this historical context. aDNA leaching from overlying strata may also explain this detection. This study strongly pleads for a systematic integrative approach combining microscopy and aDNA in paleoparasitology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roche Kévin
- Université Bordeaux Montaigne, CNRS UMR 5607 Ausonius, France; Université de Bourgogne Franche-Comté, CNRS UMR 6249 Chrono-Environnement, France.
| | - Capelli Nicolas
- Université de Bourgogne Franche-Comté, CNRS UMR 6249 Chrono-Environnement, France
| | - Pacciani Elsa
- Soprintendenza Archeologia, Belle Arti e Paesaggio of Firenze, Pistoia and Prato, Italy
| | | | - Pallecchi Pasquino
- Soprintendenza Archeologia, Belle Arti e Paesaggio of Firenze, Pistoia and Prato, Italy
| | - Bianucci Raffaella
- Legal Medicine Section, Department of Public Health and Paediatric Sciences, University of Turin, Italy; Warwick Medical School, Biomedical Sciences, University of Warwick, United Kingdom; ADES (UMR 7268), Laboratoire d'Anthropologie bio-culturelle, Droit, Ethique & Santé (Adés), Faculté de Médecine de Marseille, France
| | - Le Bailly Matthieu
- Université de Bourgogne Franche-Comté, CNRS UMR 6249 Chrono-Environnement, France.
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Bennett J, McPherson O, Presswell B. Gastrointestinal helminths of little blue penguins, Eudyptula novaehollandiae (Stephens), from Otago, New Zealand. Parasitol Int 2020; 80:102185. [PMID: 32919082 DOI: 10.1016/j.parint.2020.102185] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/28/2019] [Revised: 08/05/2020] [Accepted: 08/13/2020] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
Data regarding helminth communities can provide insights into health, feeding interactions, behaviour and evolution of their host organisms. Penguins (Spheniscidae) are important components of marine food webs and tracking their helminth communities can be indicative of ecosystem health. New Zealand is home to 5 of the world's 19 penguin species and little is known about their gastrointestinal helminths. Here, we provide the first study on the gastrointestinal helminths of little blue penguins from south-eastern South Island, New Zealand. The helminth community consisted of two species of tapeworm; Tetrabothrius lutzi and Tetrabothrius sp.; three nematode species, Contracaecum eudyptulae, Capillaria sp. and Stegophorus macronectes; two acanthocephalans, Andracantha sigma and Bolbosoma balaenae; and one trematode, Galactosomum otepotiense. The most prevalent parasites were T. lutzi, A. sigma, and C. eudyptulae. This work includes three new host records and five new geographic records. This is the first report of B. balaenae occurring in a host other than a marine mammal. This study adds to our knowledge about the helminth community of New Zealand little blue penguins, and includes new genetic data on helminth species, providing a baseline against which future studies may be compared.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jerusha Bennett
- Department of Zoology, University of Otago, PO Box 56, Dunedin, New Zealand.
| | - Olivia McPherson
- Department of Zoology, University of Otago, PO Box 56, Dunedin, New Zealand
| | - Bronwen Presswell
- Department of Zoology, University of Otago, PO Box 56, Dunedin, New Zealand
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Poulin R, Bennett J, de Angeli Dutra D, Doherty JF, Filion A, Park E, Ruehle B. Evolutionary Signature of Ancient Parasite Pressures, or the Ghost of Parasitism Past. Front Ecol Evol 2020. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2020.00195] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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20
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Ancient parasitic DNA reveals Toxascaris leonina presence in Final Pleistocene of South America. Parasitology 2019; 146:1284-1288. [PMID: 31196226 DOI: 10.1017/s0031182019000787] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
Parasitological analysis of coprolites has allowed exploring ecological relationships in ancient times. Ancient DNA analysis contributes to the identification of coprolites and their parasites. Pleistocene mammalian carnivore coprolites were recovered from paleontological and archaeological site Peñas de las Trampas 1.1 in the southern Puna of Argentina. With the aim of exploring ancient ecological relationships, parasitological analysis was performed to one of them, dated to 16 573-17 002 calibrated years BP, with 95.4% probability. Parasite eggs attributed to Toxascaris sp. by morphological characters were isolated. DNA of coprolite and eggs was extracted to molecular identification. Ancient mitochondrial DNA analysis confirmed the zoological origin of the coprolite as Puma concolor and that of parasite eggs as Toxascaris leonina. This is the oldest molecular parasite record worldwide, and it supports the presence of this parasite since the Pleistocene in America. These findings have implications for the biogeographic history of parasites and for the natural history of the region.
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Borba VH, Machado-Silva JR, Le Bailly M, Iñiguez AM. Worldwide paleodistribution of capillariid parasites: Paleoparasitology, current status of phylogeny and taxonomic perspectives. PLoS One 2019; 14:e0216150. [PMID: 31039193 PMCID: PMC6490956 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0216150] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2018] [Accepted: 04/15/2019] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Introduction Paleoparasitology, the study of parasites in the past, brings the knowledge of where and when they occurred in preterit populations. Some groups of parasites, as capillariids, have a complex and controversial systematic, hindering the paleoparasitological diagnosis. In this article, we synthesized the occurrence of capillariids in both the New and the Old World in ancient times, and discussed the difficulty of the diagnosis of species and the strategies for identification. The present review also shows the current status of the phylogeny in capillariids and indicates the necessity to try new approaches for a better understanding of capillariid paleodistribution. Methods For the systematic review, a predefined guideline defined by PRISMA was used. The articles collected were identified, screened, and included in the review following criteria for eligibility. The current status of the phylogeny of capillariids was accessed using MUSCLE, Bioedit v.7.0.5 and MEGA v. 7.0.21 programs. Results The review discussed 38 articles that presented information about capillariids in past populations. Most of capillariid eggs found in the New and Old World were not identified. However, Calodium hepaticum eggs were the most identified, as some from Eucoleus genus. It was observed that sites from the New World had a better chance for capillariid egg identification, due to previous knowledge of its host, when compared to the Old World. In the 18S rDNA phylogenetic analyses, two datasets were constructed, one including sequences from 7 Moravec’s genera, where 3 genus-specific clusters, with high bootstrap values, could be observed for Capillaria (ML = 99%, NJ = 96%), Eucoleus (ML / NJ = 100%) and Paratrichosoma (ML / NJ = 100%). A fourth cluster of 18S rDNA dataset I revealed lack of definition of Pearsonema and Aonchotheca genera. The 18S rDNA dataset II comprised 8 Moravec’s genera and defined 3 clusters, 2 genus-specific for Eucoleus (ML = 99%, NJ = 100%) and Capillaria (ML / NJ = 98%). The third 18S rDNA dataset II cluster included 6 genera and exhibited, once again, Pearsonema and Aonchotheca poor discrimination. The cox1 gene data consist of 4 Moravec’s genera, and in spite of grouping some species-specific clusters, did not show genera-specific definition. Conclusions Despite the numerous archaeological findings, both in the New and the Old Worlds, the identification of capillariid species based on the morphology and morphometry of eggs remains imprecise, often resulting in a generic diagnosis of a group or morphotype of capillariid. Capillariid is one of the most diverse group of helminths recovered in archaeological sites. The phylogenetic trees produced in this study showed limited genetic information available, unresolved genera and incongruence with the classical taxonomy. The elucidation of the paleodistribution of capillariids can give insights of the ancient host-parasite associations but also in modern sceneries.
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Affiliation(s)
- Victor Hugo Borba
- Laboratório de Helmintologia Romero Lascasas Porto, Faculdade de Ciências Médicas, Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (FCM/UERJ), Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- Laboratório de Biologia de Tripanosomatídeos, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz (IOC/FIOCRUZ), Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - José Roberto Machado-Silva
- Laboratório de Helmintologia Romero Lascasas Porto, Faculdade de Ciências Médicas, Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (FCM/UERJ), Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Matthieu Le Bailly
- University of Bourgogne Franche-Comte, CNRS UMR 6249 Chrono-environment, Besançon, France
| | - Alena Mayo Iñiguez
- Laboratório de Biologia de Tripanosomatídeos, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz (IOC/FIOCRUZ), Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- * E-mail:
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22
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Wood JR, Díaz FP, Latorre C, Wilmshurst JM, Burge OR, Gutiérrez RA. Plant pathogen responses to Late Pleistocene and Holocene climate change in the central Atacama Desert, Chile. Sci Rep 2018; 8:17208. [PMID: 30464240 PMCID: PMC6249261 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-35299-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2018] [Accepted: 11/01/2018] [Indexed: 01/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Future climate change has the potential to alter the distribution and prevalence of plant pathogens, which may have significant implications for both agricultural crops and natural plant communities. However, there are few long-term datasets against which modelled predictions of pathogen responses to climate change can be tested. Here, we use 18S metabarcoding of 28 rodent middens (solidified deposits of rodent coprolites and nesting material) from the Central Atacama, spanning the last ca. 49 ka, to provide the first long-term late Quaternary record of change in plant pathogen communities in response to changing climate. Plant pathogen richness was significantly greater in middens deposited during the Central Andean Pluvial Event (CAPE); a period of increased precipitation between 17.5–8.5 ka. Moreover, the occurrence frequency of Pucciniaceae (rust fungi) was significantly greater during the CAPE, and the highest relative abundances for five additional potentially pathogenic taxa also occurred during this period. The results demonstrate the promising potential for ancient DNA analysis of late Quaternary samples to reveal insights into how plant pathogens responded to past climatic and environmental change, which could help predict how pathogens may responded to future change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jamie R Wood
- Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research, PO Box 69040, Lincoln, 7640, New Zealand.
| | - Francisca P Díaz
- Departamento de Genética Molecular y Microbiología, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Avda. Libertador Bernardo O'Higgins 340, Santiago, Chile. .,FONDAP Center for Genome Regulation & Millennium Institute for Integrative Biology (iBio), Santiago, Chile.
| | - Claudio Latorre
- Departamento de Ecología, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Alameda, 340, Santiago, Chile.,Institute of Ecology and Biodiversity (IEB), Las Palmeras, 3425, Ñuñoa, Santiago, Chile
| | - Janet M Wilmshurst
- Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research, PO Box 69040, Lincoln, 7640, New Zealand.,School of Environment, The University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland, 1142, New Zealand
| | - Olivia R Burge
- Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research, PO Box 69040, Lincoln, 7640, New Zealand
| | - Rodrigo A Gutiérrez
- Departamento de Genética Molecular y Microbiología, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Avda. Libertador Bernardo O'Higgins 340, Santiago, Chile.,FONDAP Center for Genome Regulation & Millennium Institute for Integrative Biology (iBio), Santiago, Chile
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23
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Coprolites reveal ecological interactions lost with the extinction of New Zealand birds. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2018; 115:1546-1551. [PMID: 29440415 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1712337115] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Over the past 50,000 y, biotic extinctions and declines have left a legacy of vacant niches and broken ecological interactions across global terrestrial ecosystems. Reconstructing the natural, unmodified ecosystems that preceded these events relies on high-resolution analyses of paleoecological deposits. Coprolites are a source of uniquely detailed information about trophic interactions and the behaviors, gut parasite communities, and microbiotas of prehistoric animal species. Such insights are critical for understanding the legacy effects of extinctions on ecosystems, and can help guide contemporary conservation and ecosystem restoration efforts. Here we use high-throughput sequencing (HTS) of ancient eukaryotic DNA from coprolites to reconstruct aspects of the biology and ecology of four species of extinct moa and the critically endangered kakapo parrot from New Zealand (NZ). Importantly, we provide evidence that moa and prehistoric kakapo consumed ectomycorrhizal fungi, suggesting these birds played a role in dispersing fungi that are key to NZ's natural forest ecosystems. We also provide the first DNA-based evidence that moa frequently supplemented their broad diets with ferns and mosses. Finally, we also find parasite taxa that provide insight into moa behavior, and present data supporting the hypothesis of coextinction between moa and several parasite species. Our study demonstrates that HTS sequencing of coprolites provides a powerful tool for resolving key aspects of ancient ecosystems and may rapidly provide information not obtainable by conventional paleoecological techniques, such as fossil analyses.
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Unique parasite aDNA in moa coprolites from New Zealand suggests mass parasite extinctions followed human-induced megafauna extinctions. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2018; 115:1411-1413. [PMID: 29440435 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1722598115] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
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25
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Abstract
SUMMARYAncient samples present a number of technical challenges for DNA barcoding, including damaged DNA with low endogenous copy number and short fragment lengths. Nevertheless, techniques are available to overcome these issues, and DNA barcoding has now been used to successfully recover parasite DNA from a wide variety of ancient substrates, including coprolites, cesspit sediment, mummified tissues, burial sediments and permafrost soils. The study of parasite DNA from ancient samples can provide a number of unique scientific insights, for example: (1) into the parasite communities and health of prehistoric human populations; (2) the ability to reconstruct the natural parasite faunas of rare or extinct host species, which has implications for conservation management and de-extinction; and (3) the ability to view in ‘real-time’ processes that may operate over century- or millenial-timescales, such as how parasites responded to past climate change events or how they co-evolved alongside their hosts. The application of DNA metabarcoding and high-throughput sequencing to ancient specimens has so far been limited, but in future promises great potential for gaining empirical data on poorly understood processes such as parasite co-extinction.
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26
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Galetti M, Moleón M, Jordano P, Pires MM, Guimarães PR, Pape T, Nichols E, Hansen D, Olesen JM, Munk M, de Mattos JS, Schweiger AH, Owen-Smith N, Johnson CN, Marquis RJ, Svenning JC. Ecological and evolutionary legacy of megafauna extinctions. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2017; 93:845-862. [PMID: 28990321 DOI: 10.1111/brv.12374] [Citation(s) in RCA: 102] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2017] [Revised: 08/26/2017] [Accepted: 09/01/2017] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
For hundreds of millions of years, large vertebrates (megafauna) have inhabited most of the ecosystems on our planet. During the late Quaternary, notably during the Late Pleistocene and the early Holocene, Earth experienced a rapid extinction of large, terrestrial vertebrates. While much attention has been paid to understanding the causes of this massive megafauna extinction, less attention has been given to understanding the impacts of loss of megafauna on other organisms with whom they interacted. In this review, we discuss how the loss of megafauna disrupted and reshaped ecological interactions, and explore the ecological consequences of the ongoing decline of large vertebrates. Numerous late Quaternary extinct species of predators, parasites, commensals and mutualistic partners were associated with megafauna and were probably lost due to their strict dependence upon them (co-extinctions). Moreover, many extant species have megafauna-adapted traits that provided evolutionary benefits under past megafauna-rich conditions, but are now of no or limited use (anachronisms). Morphological evolution and behavioural changes allowed some of these species partially to overcome the absence of megafauna. Although the extinction of megafauna led to a number of co-extinction events, several species that likely co-evolved with megafauna established new interactions with humans and their domestic animals. Species that were highly specialized in interactions with megafauna, such as large predators, specialized parasites, and large commensalists (e.g. scavengers, dung beetles), and could not adapt to new hosts or prey were more likely to die out. Partners that were less megafauna dependent persisted because of behavioural plasticity or by shifting their dependency to humans via domestication, facilitation or pathogen spill-over, or through interactions with domestic megafauna. We argue that the ongoing extinction of the extant megafauna in the Anthropocene will catalyse another wave of co-extinctions due to the enormous diversity of key ecological interactions and functional roles provided by the megafauna.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mauro Galetti
- Departamento de Ecologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP), 13506-900, Rio Claro, SP Brazil.,Section for Ecoinformatics & Biodiversity, Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - Marcos Moleón
- Estación Biológica de Doñana, EBD-SCIC, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Sevilla, Spain.,Departamento de Zoología, Universidad de Granada, Granada, Spain
| | - Pedro Jordano
- Estación Biológica de Doñana, EBD-SCIC, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Sevilla, Spain
| | - Mathias M Pires
- Departamento de Ecologia, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP Brazil
| | - Paulo R Guimarães
- Departamento de Ecologia, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP Brazil
| | - Thomas Pape
- Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | | | - Dennis Hansen
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Jens M Olesen
- Section for Ecoinformatics & Biodiversity, Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - Michael Munk
- Section for Ecoinformatics & Biodiversity, Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - Jacqueline S de Mattos
- Departamento de Ecologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP), 13506-900, Rio Claro, SP Brazil
| | - Andreas H Schweiger
- Section for Ecoinformatics & Biodiversity, Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - Norman Owen-Smith
- Centre for African Ecology, School of Animal Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Wits 2050, South Africa
| | - Christopher N Johnson
- School of Biological Sciences & Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
| | - Robert J Marquis
- Department of Biology and the Whitney R. Harris World Ecology Center, University of Missouri-St. Louis, St. Louis, U.S.A
| | - Jens-Christian Svenning
- Section for Ecoinformatics & Biodiversity, Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
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Cole TL, Wood JR. The ancient DNA revolution: the latest era in unearthing New Zealand’s faunal history. NEW ZEALAND JOURNAL OF ZOOLOGY 2017. [DOI: 10.1080/03014223.2017.1376690] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Theresa L. Cole
- Department of Zoology, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
- Long Term Ecology Lab, Landcare Research, Lincoln, New Zealand
| | - Jamie R. Wood
- Long Term Ecology Lab, Landcare Research, Lincoln, New Zealand
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28
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Time to Spread Your Wings: A Review of the Avian Ancient DNA Field. Genes (Basel) 2017; 8:genes8070184. [PMID: 28718817 PMCID: PMC5541317 DOI: 10.3390/genes8070184] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2017] [Revised: 06/27/2017] [Accepted: 07/10/2017] [Indexed: 01/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Ancient DNA (aDNA) has the ability to inform the evolutionary history of both extant and extinct taxa; however, the use of aDNA in the study of avian evolution is lacking in comparison to other vertebrates, despite birds being one of the most species-rich vertebrate classes. Here, we review the field of “avian ancient DNA” by summarising the past three decades of literature on this topic. Most studies over this time have used avian aDNA to reconstruct phylogenetic relationships and clarify taxonomy based on the sequencing of a few mitochondrial loci, but recent studies are moving toward using a comparative genomics approach to address developmental and functional questions. Applying aDNA analysis with more practical outcomes in mind (such as managing conservation) is another increasingly popular trend among studies that utilise avian aDNA, but the majority of these have yet to influence management policy. We find that while there have been advances in extracting aDNA from a variety of avian substrates including eggshell, feathers, and coprolites, there is a bias in the temporal focus; the majority of the ca. 150 studies reviewed here obtained aDNA from late Holocene (100–1000 yBP) material, with few studies investigating Pleistocene-aged material. In addition, we identify and discuss several other issues within the field that require future attention. With more than one quarter of Holocene bird extinctions occurring in the last several hundred years, it is more important than ever to understand the mechanisms driving the evolution and extinction of bird species through the use of aDNA.
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Borba Nunes VH, Alcover JA, Silva VL, Cruz PB, Machado-Silva JR, de Araújo AJG. Paleoparasitological analysis of the extinct Myotragus balearicus Bate 1909 (Artiodactyla, Caprinae) from Mallorca (Balearic Islands, Western Mediterranean). Parasitol Int 2017; 66:7-11. [DOI: 10.1016/j.parint.2016.11.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2016] [Revised: 11/07/2016] [Accepted: 11/15/2016] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
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Wood JR, Perry GLW, Wilmshurst JM. Using palaeoecology to determine baseline ecological requirements and interaction networks for de‐extinction candidate species. Funct Ecol 2016. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.12773] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Jamie R. Wood
- Long‐term Ecology Lab Landcare Research PO Box 69040 Lincoln7640 New Zealand
| | - George L. W. Perry
- School of Environment The University of Auckland Private Bag 92019 Auckland1142 New Zealand
| | - Janet M. Wilmshurst
- Long‐term Ecology Lab Landcare Research PO Box 69040 Lincoln7640 New Zealand
- School of Environment The University of Auckland Private Bag 92019 Auckland1142 New Zealand
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Origin of a major infectious disease in vertebrates: The timing of Cryptosporidium evolution and its hosts. Parasitology 2016; 143:1683-1690. [DOI: 10.1017/s0031182016001323] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
SUMMARYProtozoan parasites of the genus Cryptosporidium infect all vertebrate groups and display some host specificity in their infections. It is therefore possible to assume that Cryptosporidium parasites evolved intimately aside with vertebrate lineages. Here we propose a scenario of Cryptosporidium–Vertebrata coevolution testing the hypothesis that the origin of Cryptosporidium parasites follows that of the origin of modern vertebrates. We use calibrated molecular clocks and cophylogeny analyses to provide and compare age estimates and patterns of association between these clades. Our study provides strong support for the evolution of parasitism of Cryptosporidium with the rise of the vertebrates about 600 million years ago (Mya). Interestingly, periods of increased diversification in Cryptosporidium coincides with diversification of crown mammalian and avian orders after the Cretaceous-Palaeogene (K-Pg) boundary, suggesting that adaptive radiation to new mammalian and avian hosts triggered the diversification of this parasite lineage. Despite evidence for ongoing host shifts we also found significant correlation between protozoan parasites and vertebrate hosts trees in the cophylogenetic analysis. These results help us to understand the underlying macroevolutionary mechanisms driving evolution in Cryptosporidium and may have important implications for the ecology, dynamics and epidemiology of cryptosporidiosis disease in humans and other animals.
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Strona G, Fattorini S. Are generalist parasites being lost from their hosts? J Anim Ecol 2016; 85:621-3. [PMID: 26751407 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.12443] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2015] [Accepted: 08/20/2015] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Co-extinctions should be regarded as fundamental co-evolutionary events promoting species turnover, prior than a consequence of human induced biodiversity loss. Focusing on current scenarios is key to biodiversity conservation, but predicting future trends could be harder and less fruitful than trying to get a better grasp on the past.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giovanni Strona
- European Commission, Joint Research Centre, Institute for Environment and Sustainability, Via E. Fermi 2749, 21027, Ispra (VA), Italy
| | - Simone Fattorini
- CE3C - Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes, Departamento de Ciéncias Agrárias, Azorean Biodiversity Group and Universidade dos Açores, 9700-042, Angra do Heroísmo, Açores, Portugal
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Strona G. Past, present and future of host-parasite co-extinctions. Int J Parasitol Parasites Wildl 2015; 4:431-41. [PMID: 26835251 PMCID: PMC4699984 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijppaw.2015.08.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2015] [Revised: 08/25/2015] [Accepted: 08/26/2015] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Human induced ecosystem alterations and climate change are expected to drive several species to extinction. In this context, the attention of public opinion, and hence conservationists' efforts, are often targeted towards species having emotional, recreational and/or economical value. This tendency may result in a high number of extinctions happening unnoticed. Among these, many could involve parasites. Several studies have highlighted various reasons why we should care about this, that go far beyond the fact that parasites are amazingly diverse. A growing corpus of evidence suggests that parasites contribute much to ecosystems both in terms of biomass and services, and the seemingly paradoxical idea that a healthy ecosystem is one rich in parasites is becoming key to the whole concept of parasite conservation. Although various articles have covered different aspects of host-parasite co-extinctions, I feel that some important conceptual issues still need to be formally addressed. In this review, I will attempt at clarifying some of them, with the aim of providing researchers with a unifying conceptual framework that could help them designing future studies. In doing this, I will try to draw a more clear distinction between the (co-)evolutionary and the ecological dimensions of co-extinction studies, since the ongoing processes that are putting parasites at risk now operate at a scale that is extremely different from the one that has shaped host-parasite networks throughout million years of co-evolution. Moreover, I will emphasize how the complexity of direct and indirect effects of parasites on ecosystems makes it much challenging to identify the mechanisms possibly leading to co-extinction events, and to predict how such events will affect ecosystems in the long run.
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De Baets K, Dentzien-Dias P, Upeniece I, Verneau O, Donoghue PCJ. Constraining the Deep Origin of Parasitic Flatworms and Host-Interactions with Fossil Evidence. ADVANCES IN PARASITOLOGY 2015; 90:93-135. [PMID: 26597066 DOI: 10.1016/bs.apar.2015.06.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Novel fossil discoveries have contributed to our understanding of the evolutionary appearance of parasitism in flatworms. Furthermore, genetic analyses with greater coverage have shifted our views on the coevolution of parasitic flatworms and their hosts. The putative record of parasitic flatworms is consistent with extant host associations and so can be used to put constraints on the evolutionary origin of the parasites themselves. The future lies in new molecular clock analyses combined with additional discoveries of exceptionally preserved flatworms associated with hosts and coprolites. Besides direct evidence, the host fossil record and biogeography have the potential to constrain their evolutionary history, albeit with caution needed to avoid circularity, and a need for calibrations to be implemented in the most conservative way. This might result in imprecise, but accurate divergence estimates for the evolution of parasitic flatworms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kenneth De Baets
- Fachgruppe PaläoUmwelt, GeoZentrum Nordbayern, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Erlangen, Germany
| | - Paula Dentzien-Dias
- Núcleo de Oceanografia Geológica, Instituto de Oceanografia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande, Rio Grande, Brazil
| | - Ieva Upeniece
- Department of Geology, University of Latvia, Riga, Latvia
| | - Olivier Verneau
- Centre de Formation et de Recherche sur les Environnements Méditerranéens, University of Perpignan Via Domitia, Perpignan, France; CNRS, Centre de Formation et de Recherche sur les Environnements Méditerranéens, Perpignan, France; Unit for Environmental Sciences and Management, North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa
| | - Philip C J Donoghue
- School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Life Science Building, Bristol, UK
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Abstract
Parasite finds in ancient material launched a new field of science: palaeoparasitology. Ever since the pioneering studies, parasites were identified in archaeological and palaeontological remains, some preserved for millions of years by fossilization. However, the palaeoparasitological record consists mainly of parasites found specifically in human archaeological material, preserved in ancient occupation sites, from prehistory until closer to 2015. The results include some helminth intestinal parasites still commonly found in 2015, such as Ascaris lumbricoides, Trichuris trichiura and hookworms, besides others such as Amoebidae and Giardia intestinalis, as well as viruses, bacteria, fungi and arthropods. These parasites as a whole provide important data on health, diet, climate and living conditions among ancient populations. This chapter describes the principal findings and their importance for knowledge on the origin and dispersal of infectious diseases.
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Green Etxabe A, Short S, Flood T, Johns T, Ford AT. Pronounced and prevalent intersexuality does not impede the 'Demon Shrimp' invasion. PeerJ 2015; 3:e757. [PMID: 25699206 PMCID: PMC4327250 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.757] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2014] [Accepted: 01/21/2015] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Crustacean intersexuality is widespread and often linked to infection by sex-distorting parasites. However, unlike vertebrate intersexuality, its association with sexual dysfunction is unclear and remains a matter of debate. The ‘Demon Shrimp,’ Dikerogammarus haemobaphes, an amphipod that has invaded continental waterways, has recently become widespread in Britain. Intersexuality has been noted in D. haemobaphes but not investigated further. We hypothesise that a successful invasive population should not display a high prevalence of intersexuality if this condition represents a truly dysfunctional phenotype. In addition, experiments have indicated that particular parasite burdens in amphipods may facilitate invasions. The rapid and ongoing invasion of British waterways represents an opportunity to determine whether these hypotheses are consistent with field observations. This study investigates the parasites and sexual phenotypes of D. haemobaphes in British waterways, characterising parasite burdens using molecular screening, and makes comparisons with the threatened Gammarus pulex natives. We reveal that invasive and native populations have distinct parasitic profiles, suggesting the loss of G. pulex may have parasite-mediated eco-system impacts. Furthermore, the parasite burdens are consistent with those previously proposed to facilitate biological invasions. Our study also indicates that while no intersexuality occurs in the native G. pulex, approximately 50% of D. haemobaphes males present pronounced intersexuality associated with infection by the microsporidian Dictyocoela berillonum. This unambiguously successful invasive population presents, to our knowledge, the highest reported prevalence of male intersexuality. This is the clearest evidence to date that such intersexuality does not represent a form of debilitating sexual dysfunction that negatively impacts amphipod populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amaia Green Etxabe
- Institute of Marine Sciences, School of Biological Sciences, University of Portsmouth , Portsmouth , United Kingdom
| | - Stephen Short
- Institute of Marine Sciences, School of Biological Sciences, University of Portsmouth , Portsmouth , United Kingdom
| | - Tim Flood
- Environment Agency , Howbery Park, Wallingford, Oxfordshire , UK
| | - Tim Johns
- Environment Agency , Howbery Park, Wallingford, Oxfordshire , UK
| | - Alex T Ford
- Institute of Marine Sciences, School of Biological Sciences, University of Portsmouth , Portsmouth , United Kingdom
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De Baets K, Littlewood DTJ. The Importance of Fossils in Understanding the Evolution of Parasites and Their Vectors. ADVANCES IN PARASITOLOGY 2015; 90:1-51. [PMID: 26597064 DOI: 10.1016/bs.apar.2015.07.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Knowledge concerning the diversity of parasitism and its reach across our current understanding of the tree of life has benefitted considerably from novel molecular phylogenetic methods. However, the timing of events and the resolution of the nature of the intimate relationships between parasites and their hosts in deep time remain problematic. Despite its vagaries, the fossil record provides the only direct evidence of parasites and parasitism in the fossil record of extant and extinct lineages. Here, we demonstrate the potential of the fossil record and other lines of geological evidence to calibrate the origin and evolution of parasitism by combining different kinds of dating evidence with novel molecular clock methodologies. Other novel methods promise to provide additional evidence for the presence or the life habit of pathogens and their vectors, including the discovery and analysis of ancient DNA and other biomolecules, as well as computed tomographic methods.
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Abstract
This chapter discusses the evolutionary history of nematode parasites of invertebrates, vertebrates and plants based on fossil remains in amber, stone and coprolites dating from the Palaeozoic to the Holocene. The earliest parasitic nematode is a primitive plant parasite from the Devonian. Fossil invertebrate-parasitic nematodes first appeared in the Early Cretaceous, while the earliest fossil vertebrate-parasitic nematodes are from Upper Triassic coprolites. Specific examples of fossil nematode parasites over time are presented, along with views on the origin and evolution of nematodes and their hosts.
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Affiliation(s)
- George O Poinar
- Department of Integrative Biology, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331, USA.
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Brodie JF, Aslan CE, Rogers HS, Redford KH, Maron JL, Bronstein JL, Groves CR. Secondary extinctions of biodiversity. Trends Ecol Evol 2014; 29:664-72. [PMID: 25445878 DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2014.09.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 87] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2014] [Revised: 09/25/2014] [Accepted: 09/26/2014] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
Extinctions beget further extinctions when species lose obligate mutualists, predators, prey, or hosts. Here, we develop a conceptual model of species and community attributes affecting secondary extinction likelihood, incorporating mechanisms that buffer organisms against partner loss. Specialized interactors, including 'cryptic specialists' with diverse but nonredundant partner assemblages, incur elevated risk. Risk is also higher for species that cannot either evolve new traits following partner loss or obtain novel partners in communities reorganizing under changing environmental conditions. Partner loss occurs alongside other anthropogenic impacts; multiple stressors can circumvent ecological buffers, enhancing secondary extinction risk. Stressors can also offset each other, reducing secondary extinction risk, a hitherto unappreciated phenomenon. This synthesis suggests improved conservation planning tactics and critical directions for research on secondary extinctions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jedediah F Brodie
- Department of Botany, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4, Canada; Department of Zoology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4, Canada; Biodiversity Research Centre, University of British Columbia, Vancouver BC, V6T 1Z4, Canada.
| | - Clare E Aslan
- Conservation Education and Science Department, Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, Tucson, AZ 85743, USA
| | - Haldre S Rogers
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Rice University, Houston, TX 77005, USA
| | | | - John L Maron
- Division of Biological Sciences, University of Montana, Missoula, MT 59803, USA
| | - Judith L Bronstein
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA
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Faulkner CT, Reinhard KJ. A retrospective examination of paleoparasitology and its establishment in the Journal of Parasitology. J Parasitol 2014; 100:253-9. [PMID: 24588553 DOI: 10.1645/13-485.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Volume 95 (2009) of the Journal of Parasitology represented a significant benchmark in the history of paleoparasitology when it received on the cover formal recognition as a topical area for publication. This retrospective examination chronicles the emergence of paleoparasitology, from its origins as an adjunct contribution to the study of prehistoric human populations to its modern expression as a sub-disciplinary interest. The aim of paleoparasitology is to elucidate the temporal and spatial dimensions of parasitism from the fossil record of human and non-human host populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charles T Faulkner
- College of Veterinary Medicine, Lincoln Memorial University, Harrogate, Tennessee 37752
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42
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Affiliation(s)
- D. Naish
- Ocean and Earth Science, National Oceanography Centre; University of Southampton; Southampton UK
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